1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the fields of hand tools, building and construction, and supports, and more specifically in the field of installing lap siding on buildings.
2. Description of the Related Art
Lap siding is a common type of siding for buildings. Lap siding refers generally to siding in which multiple strips of siding are attached to the building in a partially overlapping fashion. More specifically, a first strip is attached at the lower extent of the face of the building to be sided and then additional strips are attached above it, with each additional strip at least partially overlapping the strip below it. The distance from the bottom of a strip to the bottom of the strip above it is referred to as a “reveal.” A reveal may also be defined as the height of the siding strip less the amount of overlap by the strip installed above it, or more simply, the vertical or generally vertical portion of each siding strip that is seen after installation is complete. Mechanical fastening of siding strips to the face of a building is most commonly achieved through the use of a pneumatic nail gun or similar device that may be operated with one hand.
A challenge when installing lap siding is to create uniform and level reveals, while at the same time addressing the occasional need to intentionally vary reveal sizes by incremental units to correct for any number of construction variances, such as if the ends of a building vary slightly in height or a window has been installed out-of-level. Another challenge is the ability to hold a siding strip properly and firmly to prevent slippage during mechanical fastening. Further, siding installers face the constant challenge of having to carry and use many individual tools, such as a level, straight edge for marking lines, hammer, tape measure, etc., which tends to be cumbersome and hazardous, particularly when working on scaffolding.
One common installation method used to achieve the desired reveals described above is to manually mark lines at taped intervals at each end of a previously fastened siding strip. The next siding strip to be installed is then aligned visually and hand-held during mechanical fastening. A disadvantage of this method is the added installation time required to measure and mark lines for each siding strip. In addition, measurements and markings of lines, as well as visual alignment of siding strips to said lines, can vary from person to person, from one end of the strip to the other, and from strip to strip, thus introducing cumulative errors of scale and human error resulting in non-uniform reveals and siding strips installed out of level. Furthermore, this method requires the installer to hand-position and hold each strip of siding during mechanical fastening, which can result in inadvertent slippage or movement of the siding.
Another installation method is to use blocks of wood, cut to the desired reveal size, as spacers that two installers can hold at each end of a siding strip, with the bottom of the block aligned with the bottom of the previously fastened strip and the top of the block providing a surface upon which the next siding strip can sit during mechanical fastening. Disadvantages of this method are that individual blocks of wood can vary in length, are susceptible to shrinking and swelling due to differences in moisture content, and deform after repeated use due to the wearing of the edges of the seated siding on the top of the block, all of which contribute to the aforementioned cumulative errors. In addition, the use of blocks as spacers requires the visual alignment of the bottom of the block with the bottom of the previously fastened strip of siding, and further introduces human error, especially because different individuals will be visually aligning each side of the lap siding. Further, while providing a seat for a siding strip to be installed, this method does not prevent lateral movement (outward from the building face) of the siding and can easily result in vertical slippage relative to the previously installed strip of lap siding, thereby requiring two hands to hold the siding strip and block in place.
Existing tools and devices for installing lap siding are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,473,100, 4,484,392, 4,425,714, 5,408,757 and 6,684,521, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. However, the devices disclosed in such patents, while somewhat useful when employed by a single installer, consist of tools that are of substantially fixed structures and which have proven to be inconvenient for rapid and efficient use. The devices are relatively complex in structure, are difficult to remove once a siding strip is fastened, and have a tendency to break or damage the siding during removal. These devices also require at least two workers to install a single strip of siding, and do not provide for moving elongate siding strips from, e.g., a vehicle to the location of installation without risk of damage to the siding. The risk of damage or breakage is particularly acute with cement siding.